It all comes down to this. On Saturday in Kansas City, the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit face off in the NWSL Championship. The meeting of the top two seeds in the NWSL playoffs promises to entertain. And it marks the culmination of another year of growth in what is now the league’s 12th season.
How did we get here?
Over the year,a number of changes took hold as the league grew in multiple ways. Two new two teams entered the fray, Bay FC and Utah Royals, bringing the league total to 14. The season got longer – every team played 26 matches, up from 22 the year before. A landmark broadcast partnership with CBS, ESPN, Prime Video and Scripps Sports commenced. Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium opened, marking the first NWSL stadium built specifically for a women’s soccer team. In the summer, a new CBA dropped that, among other things, abolished the NWSL Draft.
On the field, a number of records were set. Lynn Williams became the league’s all-time leading scorer when she netted her 79th NWSL goal. Malawian forward Temwa Chawinga broke Sam Kerr’s hold on the single-season goals count, as she won the 2024 Golden Boot with 20 in the regular season. Kansas City (Chawinga’s team) also set a new team goals record as they finished the regular season with 57. And the Shield winners, Orlando Pride, tore into the year, going on a record 24-games unbeaten in the regular season (stretching back to last year) en route to their first-place finish, and first trophy in program history.
The NWSL is a competitive league in which anything can happen. But this season was notable for the dominance of its top four teams. At the close of the regular season, the fourth-place Current finished a full 16 points ahead of the fifth-place Chicago Red Stars. That’s a wider gap than the 13-point separation between first-place San Diego Wave and last-place Chicago in the 2023 season. With eight teams making the playoffs, those top four teams all won their quarterfinal clashes at their home ground.
The Pride won by the largest margin, beating the Red Stars 4-1. The remaining quarterfinals were all decided by one goal margins, and Washington required extra-time to get past Bay FC 2-1. Both semifinals were closely contested. But the regular season’s top-ranked teams, Orlando and Washington, moved on.
The Spirit were buoyed by a second straight sellout at their home stadium, Audi Field, as they hosted the reigning champions Gotham FC in the semifinals. Just as they did in the quarterfinal, Washington came from behind to send the match into extra-time 1-1. This time, the match went to penalty kicks, where 32-year-old American keeper Aubrey Kingsbury made an incredible three straight saves to send the Spirit back to the Championship for the first-time since 2021.
On Sunday, a much-anticipated meeting between Kansas City’s dynamic attack headlined by Chawinga went toe-to-toe with the record-setting Shield winners, Orlando Pride, who are led in goals by another prolific NWSL newbie: Barbra Banda. Orlando fell behind first as Debinha opened the scoring. But they came back with three goals from Haley McCutcheon (her second in as many games), Banda, and a stunning decisive goal from 38-year-old Brazilian legend Marta. Kansas City’s late penalty wasn’t enough to stop the season’s juggernauts, and Orlando moved on.
Orlando have the cohesion and swagger of a team ready to win it all. If they do, it would add more milestones to a historic season: their first NWSL championship in their first final. It would also be the first NWSL Championship victory for Marta, though the veteran footballer has won top flight championships in the USA with the now defunct Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS).
Washington won the Championship in 2021, but missed the playoffs in both seasons since. Kingsbury, Ashley Hatch, Andi Sullivan, Tara McKeown and Trinity Rodman all started in that 2021 Championship match for Washington, and they remain with the team. But the squad has evolved significantly. Former Barcelona manager Jonatan Giráldez leads the team after moving to the U.S. over the summer.
And a number of remarkable rookies have bolstered their ranks this year. That includes the 2024 Rookie of the Year, Croix Bethune, who’s been sidelined with a season-ending injury. That also includes defensive midfielder Hal Hershfelt, who scored the 93rd-minute equalizer in the semifinal, sending their game into extra-time.
Orlando won both of their regular season meetings this year. That includes a 3-2 goalfest in Washington D.C. this April, and a 2-0 win at home for Orlando in the fall. But the Championshp matchup seems sure to be a close one. When the whistle blows in Kansas City, fans have a fascinating battle between the year’s top two teams in store. (Watch: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, CBS, Paramount+).